Roasted Jalapeno Ranch

I have two AWESOME best friends that I’ve known since I was 5 years old. We all grew up with each other and were in school together from 1st grade to our college graduation. They were both my maids of honor (jointly) at my wedding, and we now live in three separate states…which is very sad. There is a restaurant in the town where all three of us went to college called “The Rock,” and one of their appetizers is Fried Green Beans with Jalapeno Ranch, which Cranny loves.

So this Roasted Jalapeno Ranch is inspired by her, one of my best friends in the entire world. This sauce has so much flavor, and is far and above better than any regular ranch you will find. The Jalapenos are roasted, which gives the ranch an amazing flavor. The membranes and seeds of the peppers are removed so that it isn’t spicy to the point of being painful to eat. If you are a ranch lover (who isn’t?), you should definitely try this variation. This super easy recipe starts by turning your oven on broil and placing two Jalapenos (or Jap-a-lenos as my dad calls them) onto a sheet of foil.

Once your broiler has been on for about a minute, place your jalapenos on the top rack, close the door, and let them roast for 10 minutes.

Once your ten minutes have passed, the side facing up should by black and charred. Take the peppers out of the oven and turn them over.

Place them back under the broiler for another five minutes.

When the five minutes are up, they should look like this:

Place them in a bowl and cover tightly with Saran wrap.

Let the jalapenos sit in the bowl, covered, for five to ten minutes.

At this point they should be cool enough to handle, and you can remove the skin (it should be super easy to peel off).

Place the de-skinned (word?) jalapenos on a cutting board, and cut off the tops.

Slice each pepper in half, and scrape out all the seeds and membranes with a knife. If you absolutely LOVE incredibly spicy food, you can leave the seeds and membranes in…but it definitely has a kick even when you take them out. If I were you, I would start with leaving them out, and if you decide you want more spice you can add them in later.

So for this next step, I used my “Magic Bullet.” If you have one of those, I would recommend using that. If you don’t have one – no big deal; you can use a food processor or regular blender.

Into your blender, add your roasted jalapenos, 2 1/2 teaspoons ranch, 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning, 1 1/2 cups light sour cream, and a few splashes of milk. The amount of milk you add will depend on the consistency in which you want your ranch to be. Start with a few splashes and if after blending you want it to be thinner, add a few more splashes and re-blend.

Blend this mixture together until you have a uniform, smooth ranch.

Taste it and add any extra seasoning (more ranch, taco seasoning, or jalapeno seeds and membranes) that you think it needs.

And you’re done.

Love you Cran!

There is another recipe I will post soon that includes the Roasted Jalapeno Ranch: Black Bean Quinoa Burgers (which is what you see in the background of these pictures). But there are SO many things you can use this sauce for. You can use it in wraps, as a dip for vegetables or chicken tenders, and so many other things. It definitely takes the basic ranch to another level.

Here is the recipe: